Table tennis bat



June 2, 1953 s. H. FORSYTH TABLE TENNISBAT 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March '27, 1950 June 2, 1953 G. H. FORSYTH 2,640,698

. TABLE TENNIS BAT Filed March 27, 1950 I 4 Sheets-Sheet s I4 'jkven for June 2, 1953 H. FoRsYTH TABLE TENNIS BAT 4 sheets-sheet 4 F'ile'd- March 27, 1950 s a W Z If elm r .0, w w

Patented June 2, 1953 UNITED STATES 2,640,69?

TABLE TENNIS an. George Forsyth, a nslgm Application March 27, 1956; Sign. lag Alia 1 This invention relates to improvements in bats or paddles, of the kind particularly designed for use in playing table tennis, ping pong or games of a similar character.

It is now generallyrecognized that muscle relaxation is perhaps the most important factor in perfecting and maintaining a high degree of skill in practically all athletic endeavors requiring alertness, quickness and precision of movement. This is particularly true as applied to table tennis 'Claims. (01.21.3576) and similar games, wherein a relaxed grip of the bat is of the greatest aid to players, both expert and beginner.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a novel form of bat including finger and thumb rest areas at the base of the blade, cooperating to conform to the hand of the player, permitting the bat to he gripped loosely to relieve much of the tension of the muscles of the hand, wrist and forearm during play.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hand-conforming grip which is especially suitable for all the conventional types of hand grips now used in playing table tennis, but which aids the player in acquiring the most effective grip for skillful play.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a hand-conforming grip which aids the player in obtaining greater flexibility and ease in stroke making without loss of control and in imparting an accelerated spin to the ball re- ,sulting in greater deceptivity in rebound from the playing surface, regardless of the type of hand grip employed.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from time .to time as the following description proceeds.

employed in table tennis; namely, the tennis Figure 2 is a view .in part perspective showing the opposite side of the bat when held with the same tennis grip illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary detailed section showing the base portion of the form of bat shown in Figures 1 and 2;

-Figure.4lis a detailedsection taken on line :l4 of Figure-,3;

, Figure5 is ,adetailed section takenon linej ii of Figure 3;

tud inally tapering surfaces it,

served in Figured is a detailed section taken on line "new-gr is' a'fragmentary side view, looking in h c l qn i he rrqv' i 3 3 Fig re 811 a detailed section taken 1m line 8-''8ofFigure 3;" Figure? is a View similar to Figure 1, but showing aniodified form oi. thumb and finger 'c'oiiioi rriing'riiembers along the base of thefsti'ikin'g a c'f hb ti" ,igure '10 is a view of the reverse side of the a hdwn F urgiii Figures 11 and 12 are views or the obverse and reverse sides of a bat'having still 'anotherinodiii'ed form'ofthumb and sagemo remm'g members; i Figure 13 is an enlarged detailed section taken qnim new: (i new? 11 lrr i s new wde a s r th m d m ormymventan apw in Figuresxl to 9, inclus ve, of thedraw nfgs; the batc'oiisist's essentiallyo a hand e' fi an an nte ral l e H w h 091165601 striking faces l2 and"I3.- Said handleand blade are of 'conventional-lengthand overall dimensions ed' for playing table tennis and The oppjo" dstriking'gfaces 12 blade 'inay a cover or facing ill of suitajplefric on inater I, jzch'as ri' bber. The

h iid e' 1 9 11. ia i 1 31 fij j n? f 1 generally ellipt cal blade I Iain longitudinal alignmi fie'few th; an "ha d s i j bf r a h ck cs than l h lb ad? The, h d J'O'iilf? h l d a aba k. l fisi a 'e a e whereth'e tangle-merges into the'bas' or the blade at opposite races of the bat along longi- 16 forrr iin g"pa'rt o f pentral r spa easli, H.

The neckarea i5 merges laterally into shoulder at a siverg pg angleto eachother; ree 'slioiilder roman "h i je qna -nngria 'n 1 ubstantial oblique angle to the adentjst lg ng'l fac'e s 12 I13 qr the blade, as wn in' Figures 3 to]. Itwfill be especially obe'se'f fi g'uresthat the raised fingerres'ts isposed I well beyond the. neck area i 5 is, it are d rs-a nea said finger rests W111 be" in position for "engagement by th forefinger of the hand when the handl e is gripped with said forefinger 'ng in a dial beaver-dry n forwardly 'ris'angle inengagemeiit with one of the r's""arid"is used by expert players almost exclusively. Whether the forefinger engages one or another of the four finger rests l9,|9 depends upon whether the bat is gripped in the right or left hand, and which striking face of the bat the forefinger engages. In all cases, the forefinger is restrained by one of the finger rests 19 from slipping off the adjacent edge of the striking face.

It will further be observed that the finger rests l9, 19 are each disposed at a distance well beyond the normal reach of the players thumb, and that said areas are gradually reduced in height as they approach the neck l5, until they disappear by merging into the central thumb rest areas 17, one of which normally receives the thumb in gripping engagement thereagainst (see Figure 2). Both are practically in the same plane as the adjacent striking surface of the bat.

It will now be understood that, when the bat is gripped with the tennis grip, as shown in Figure 1, the forefinger of the hand will extend in substantially straight position, engaging the stroking face along a so-called finger groove, extending from the outer end of the proximate finger-gripping area IE to the opposite side of the neck area IS. The two finger grooves and the finger rests [9, I9 on each side of the bat are preferably disposed at a widely diverging angle to each other, and at approximately a 65-degree angle to the longitudinal axis of the blade. These similar finger grooves, four in number, can best be seen by viewing the bat edgewise at an oblique angle across the neck i5 and in line with the finger rest areas 19, as shown in Figure 7.

When the bat is gripped with the tennis grip, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the thumb will engage the area I1 and the adjacent tapered surface i 6 on the opposite side of the bat. The areas l6 and I1 therefore lend themselves to reception of the thumb to aid in holding the bat naturally and loosely in the hand without undue strain on the muscles of the hand, wrist or forearm.

As will be seen in Figure 5, the shoulder portion at the base of the blade, where the neck extends laterally to join the finger rest portions l9, I9 is substantially of the same thickness as the overall thickness of the blade where the finger grooves cross each other diagonally on opposite sides of the blade. Thisarrangement is especially advantageous in using the tennis grip,

as it permits the ball of the first knuckle joint between the base of the forefinger and the first metacarpus bone of the average hand to be directly engaged with the face of the bat in the area I! where the two finger grooves intersect each other. This is not possible in prior art structures where excessively thick'reenforcing ribs join the neck and shoulders so as to hold the knuckle joint away from the face of the bat in the area above mentioned. Thus, the bat can be normally gripped between the thumb on one side and the first knuckle joint on the other to provide opposed ball-and-socket connections at the base of the blade thereby affording, in effect, a universal joint between the hand and bat, to insure increased flexibility in manipulation of the bat, with relaxed tension on the muscles of the hand, wrist and forearm, but without loss of control.

When the striking surfaces of the blade are each provided with a thickness of friction material M as shown, it will be noted that a bead l8a of increased thickness is formed along the two shoulder portions 18 to serve as a strengthening reinforcement between the blade and handle.

It will be understood further that the gripconforming bat, including the lateral finger rests l9 and the central thumb rest areas I1, is equally well adapted for all other conventional types of grips employed in playing table tennis, such as the pen-holder, palm and open-fan grips. In all such types of grips, it will be found that the thumb and fingers engage the bat so that the latter can be held in a loose, relaxed manner, and in particular that the fingers, Whether it be the forefinger in the tennis grip, or the forefinger and second finger in the pen-holder grip, or all the fingers in the open-fan grip, will be engaged with one or more of the finger rests l9 to insure the desired relaxed gripping of the bat, which insures greater flexibility of the wrist and forearm, resulting in increased ease in manipulating the bat during play.

My novel hand-conforming grip also aids the beginner in assuming the most effective gripping position, no matter which form of grip he may wish to employ. Both beginner and expert also find it possible to execute both forehand and backhand strokes with far greater ease and precision than is possible with conventional bats heretofore employed.

Figures 9 and 10 show a modified form of bat having the same essential features hereinbefore described in connection with the form shown in Figures 1 to 8 inclusive, but wherein the meeting bases of the thumb rest area portion Ila and the finger rests l9a are extended longitudinally along the opposite striking faces of the bat so as to form somewhat more pronounced ridge portions 20, 20 at opposite sides of the concave thumb rest portion Ha. With this modified form of gripping surface, the ridge portions 20, 20 present a slightly more concaved thumb rest area Ha substantially in alignment with the handle, so as to afford somewhat more lateral rolling support for the thumb than is the case with the form shown in Figures 1 to 8.

Figures 11, 12 and 13 illustrate another modified form of grip, wherein the thumb rest portion Ha is extended at its base still farther out along the central portion of the blade, with an arcuate terminal edge 22 raised slightly above the adjacent striking surface so as to form a generally bowl-shaped rest l'lb. This modified form of thumb rest may be preferred by some players because it affords somewhat more support for the thumb in the direction of the outer end of the blade than is the case with the other forms of thumb rests herein shown and described.

The two modified forms of grips shown in Figures 9 and 10, and 11 to 13, respectively, have substantially the same characteristic finger slots of the form shown in Figures 1 to 8, wherein said finger slots cross each other at the thumb rest area in lines along the finger rests at a. widely diverging angle to each other on each face of the bat.

Although I have shown and described certain embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the exact construction shown and described, but that various changes and modifications may be made without department from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A bat for playing table tennis and the like, comprising a blade having substantially parallel striking faces on opposite sides thereof, a relatively thick handle rigidly connected to said blade to form a neck with laterally extending shoulders along the base of said blade, and a pair of upstanding finger rests fixed along said shoulders at the base of each of said striking faces with the inner ends of said finger rests tapered downwardly toward the striking faces at opposite sides of the neck, the pair of finger rests on each side of the blade being disposed at substantially equal, widely diverging oblique angles to the longitudinal axis of said handle, to form two substantially straight finger receiving grooves extending from the outer end of each of said finger rests to the opposite side of the neck and intersecting each other at the neck area.

2. A bat for playing table tennis and the like, comprising a blade having substantially parallel striking faces on opposite sides thereof, a relatively thick handle rigidly connected to said blade to form a neck with laterally extending shoulders along the base of said blade, a pair of upstanding finger rests fixed along said shoulders at the base of each of said striking faces, with the inner ends of said finger rests tapered downwardly at opposite sides of the neck to form a depressed thumb rest area at the neck substantially in the same plane as the proximate striking face, and the pair of finger rests on each side of the blade being disposed at a widely diverging angle to each other to provide substantially straight finger-receiving grooves extending from the outer end of each of said finger rests to the opposite side of the neck and intersecting each other at the thumb rest area.

3. A bat for playing table tennis and the like, comprising a blade having substantially parallel striking faces on opposite sides thereof, a relatively thick handle rigidly connected to said blade to form a neck with laterally extending shoulders along the base of said blade, a pair of upstanding finger rests fixed along said shoulders at the base of each of said striking faces, with the inner ends of said finger rests tapered downwardly at opposite sides of the neck to form a depressed thumb rest area at the neck substantially in the same plane as the proximate striking face, and the pair of finger rests on each side of the blade being disposed at equal angles of approximately 65 degrees to the longitudinal axis of said blade, to provide substantially straight finger-receiving grooves extending from the outer end of each of said finger rests to the opposite side of the neck and intersecting each other at the thumb rest area.

4. A bat for playing table tennis and the like, comprising a blade having substantially parallel striking faces on opposite sides thereof, a relatively thick handle rigidly connected to said blade to form a neck with laterally extending shoulders along the base of said blade, a pair of upstanding finger rests fixed along said shoulders at the base of each of said striking faces, with the inner ends of said finger rests tapered downwardly at opposite sides of the neck to form a depressed thumb rest area at the neck, the pair of finger rests on each side of the blade being disposed at substantially equal, widely diverging oblique angles to the longitudinal axis of said handle, to form two substantially straight finger receiving grooves extending from the outer end of each of said finger rests to the opposite side of the neck and intersecting each other at the thumb rest area, but the depressed thumb rest area at the neck being extended longitudinally beyond the inner ends of said finger rests and terminating in an upwardly dished arcuate rim to produce a generally bowl-shaped thumb rest surface.

5. A bat for playing table tennis and the like, comprising an elongated blade having substantially parallel striking faces on opposite sides thereof, a pair of upstanding finger rests fixed along the base of each of said striking faces with the inner ends of said finger rests tapered downwardly toward the striking faces, the pair of finger rests on each side of the blade being disposed at substantially equal, widely diverging oblique angles to the longitudinal axis of said blade to form two substantially straight finger receiving grooves extending from the outer end of said finger rests to the opposite side of the base and intersecting each other at said base.

GEORGE H. FQRSYTI-I.

References Cited the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,961,473 Baltzley June 5, 1934 2,293,312 Sewell Aug. 18, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 455,529 Great Britain Oct. 22, 1936 

